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Former William and Mary standout signed full scholarship paperwork Wednesday

William & Mary’s Jack Whitman (41) dunks the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Duke’s Chase Jeter, rear, Matt Jones, left, and William & Mary’s Jack Whitman (41) reach for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

LAWRENCE — If Jack Whitman ever finds himself struggling with life as a college basketball transfer this fall, there is good news:

He’ll have plenty of shoulders to lean on.

With his commitment Tuesday to become a graduate transfer for Kansas next season, Whitman became the seventh player on the Jayhawks’ current roster to have started his career elsewhere.

“I think it’ll definitely make for an interesting dynamic,” Whitman told The Topeka Capital-Journal on Wednesday night. “Everyone will have to mesh together pretty quickly. Obviously they’re not all graduate transfers like I am, so they won’t be able to play right away, but those guys will be able to help in practice and whatnot.”

To the casual onlooker — some of whom have taken to labeling coach Bill Self’s program “Transfer U” on social media — a roster with a majority of its scholarship players starting elsewhere seems like a staggering statistic.

To Whitman, though, it’s just the new reality of college basketball.

“Obviously this offseason, I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but there’s been a ton of transfers in general,” said Whitman, who just completed his junior season at William and Mary. “I feel like the game is kind of trending that way as well.”

Whitman’s arrival at KU might best be described as a shotgun transfer.

The timeline, as the 6-foot-9 forward recalls, is as follows: KU assistant coach Norm Roberts and a William and Mary coach met over the weekend, where the two discussed Whitman; Self called Whitman personally on Monday night to offer the scholarship; and, after discussing the offer with his family, Whitman made it official with a verbal commitment to Self on Tuesday morning.

The whole process took four or five days, and Whitman admitted he is a little surprised at how fast it all went down. But the appeal of joining a program with a legitimate shot at the national championship — and to perhaps play meaningful minutes in the process — made it an easy decision.

“It’s Kansas, yeah. I felt like that was the one thing,” Whitman said. “Another thing was, development wise, it’s one of the pieces I was looking for wherever I end up next, how Kansas has done a good job developing its big men over the course of coach Self’s time there.”

KU wasn’t the only top-tier program that had an eye on Whitman, as North Carolina was also said to have interest in the Lexington, Ky., native. But the uncertainty in the KU frontcourt — 7-footer Udoka Azubuike is expected to start but is coming off a season-ending wrist injury — proved to be another deciding factor.

“I definitely didn’t want to go somewhere just because … just because it’s Kansas,” Whitman said. “I wanted to feel like I would have an opportunity to make an impact on this team, and that was definitely another piece for why I ended up committing so fast.”

As a graduate transfer, Whitman will get his shot at making an immediate impact. He confirmed to The Capital-Journal that he signed his paperwork Wednesday morning and will indeed be on a full scholarship next season.

While that puts the Jayhawks at the scholarship threshold even without guard Svi Mykhailiuk, who declared for the NBA Draft but could return to college because he didn’t hire an agent, KU has plenty of time to make the math work between now and the May 24 deadline for Mykhailiuk’s decision.

Self and KU cannot comment on their newest transfer or the team’s scholarship situation until Whitman’s paperwork has officially been processed.

Whitman said he felt he was never really challenged to reach his full potential at William and Mary. Back and labrum injuries limited his production as an underclassman, but solid numbers as a junior (10.1 points, 5.4 rebounds per game) made him confident he could make the jump.

“This past offseason I stayed up here at William and Mary all summer, worked out a whole lot, got to be in good shape and felt good going into the season and ended up having the season I did,” Whitman said. “I was happy with that and felt I could definitely jump to a higher level after that.”

Whitman describes rebounding, athleticism and his back-to-the-basket game as his biggest skills, while adding he wants to work on his outside and face-up games in his final season — “I have a skillset to step outside. I just feel like it hasn’t been developed yet,” he added.

Regardless, Whitman said he wanted to play for a coach that will push him — and hard. And while he’s yet to officially meet Self, he knows enough about his reputation to know he can at least count on that.

“I definitely wanted to be pushed wherever I ended up, and I felt like coach Self — obviously he’s going to end up being a hall of fame coach (this fall),” Whitman said. “So that was definitely something I was looking for wherever I ended up. I just wanted to be pushed and reach my full potential.”